Social Security Board election postponed due to flood

The Social Security Board election, which was to take place tomorrow (27 September), has been postponed to 11 October due to heavy rain and flooding in several areas.

The Social Security Office said that the election is being postponed so that the election can be conducted fairly, ensure that voters can participate, and so that no particular candidate would be put at a disadvantage.

Heavy rain and flooding have been reported in several areas of the country. The Social Security Office said that this may affect voters’ ability to get to the poll and disrupt the voting process. A meeting of board election commission therefore decided on Saturday (26 September) to postpone the election. 

Calls for the Social Security Board election to be postponed began on Saturday morning (26 September). The Progressive Social Security group, a team of reformist candidates running in the election, issued a statement saying that the flood situation mean voters may not be able to fully participate and going ahead with the election as scheduled would mean disenfranchising voters in flooded areas.

Sahassawat Kumkong, a People‘s Party MP for Chonburi, published an open letter to the Minister of Labour and the Social Security Board election commission calling for postponement. He said that over half of those eligible to vote in the Social Security Board election are registered in Bangkok, Chonburi, Samut Prakan, Nontaburi, Pathumthani, and Rayong — areas on alert for heavy rain and flood. Voters in these areas or may be preoccupied with moving their belongings out of the flood or taking care of family, and should not be asked to put themselves at more risk than others to get to the poll.

The election observation network We Watch issued a statement calling on the Social Security Office and the board election commission to postpone the election. Flooding would affect the voting process, and although some polling stations might be able to open, voters who live in flooded areas may not be able to get to their designated polling station. Polling officials might also be among those affected by the flood. 

Panas Thailuan, President of the National Congress of Thai Labour and a candidate in the Social Security Board election, wrote on his Facebook page that the election should be postponed so that every candidate are competing on even ground.

Bangkok declared all 50 of its districts a public disaster zone after nearly 48 hours of coninuous rain caused flooding in several areas and closure of several main roads. Flooding has also been reported in other provinces, while the Thai Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rain warning until Sunday (27 September).